Thursday, February 20, 2014

An apple on Sunday will draw families to event

Children and Parents' Day:

The event will be at the Boynton Woman's Club, 1010 S. Federal Highway. Tickets in advance of the event are $15 per person and free for children younger than 3. Tickets purchased on the same day are $25 per person and free for children younger than 3. Fees include all-you-can-eat buffet, cooking classes, all arts and crafts, activities, souvenir photos and all entertainment. Tickets may be purchased at ChildrenParentsDay.org. Call 561-243-2662.

Local artists Rolando Chang Barrero of ActivistArtistA gallery in the Boynton Beach Arts District, Barbara Lentz of Art-Sea Living and Inge Behrens of Boca Raton will facilitate hands-on workshops with the children.

Barrero, who represents Boynton Beach Art in Public Places, will create a mini, educational puppet theater for the children.

"I am excited about my role in supporting Children & Parents' Day," he said. "It has been one of the most rewarding experiences in the past, and I expect it to be phenomenal this year. And, apples are my favorite fruit."

The children will decorate the puppets and create a story about good nutrition and the importance of incorporating fruit into their daily diet.

Bitch-slapped by the 100-year flood of last January, the intrepid artists and entrepreneurs of the Boynton Beach Art District are back on their feet again and ready to roll. To celebrate, they're hosting an art walk tomorrow night including live music, live painting and fire dance.

Located in a low-lying industrial district just west of the FEC railroad tracks off I-95, the BBAD's storage bays and workspaces were especially vulnerable to the nearly two feet of rain that came down January 10. The district's residents lost an estimated $60,000 of equipment, materials, and irreplaceable art to the flood.

The local community's response to the disaster was "moving, overwhelming," according to Rolando Chang Barrero, whose ActivistArtistA Gallery is the district's spark plug. "Almost every artist I know kicked in $20 or so to help out," he told New Times. "The vendors at our events held a fundraiser at Respectable Street. Local businessman Glen Pearce donated $900!"

The money raised so far -- nearly $2000 -- has been set aside to replace the BBAD's sound equipment. (They're using borrowed equipment tomorrow.) A March 2 benefit (details to follow) is slated to raise funds for computers and a/c. The art that was lost, that's gone with the wet. "I held a waterlogged fire sale," Barrero told us. "Sold damaged pieces off for $10 each."

"We went from flood to festival in one week," Barrero said. "The Art al'Fresco show went on as planned. With the art walk tomorrow, we're fully back."

Tomorrow night's musical headliner is J.C. Dwyer, lead singer and guitarist with Lake Worth's Mobile Homies, self-described "Rockers who grew up on country and got sick of hearing the glitzy crap that passes for country these days and decided, 'Zoddammit, we gotta do something about this!'"

Working the turntables will be DJ Thought, of Smooth Bounce Entertainment. Slinging paint in real time will be multi-media threat Craig McInnis. The Philosofires performance troupe will set the night alight with fire dance, hula hoop, and belly dance. The show must go on.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

--In early January of this year, a ridiculously annoying storm decided to rain bullets onto the city of Boynton. Although it wouldn't have been classified as biblical (since there weren't any reports of animals headed two by two toward a gigantic wooden ark built by the town drunk), the level of frustration this storm caused was at least at Justin Bieber levels. Luckily, the recovery time took way less than whatever time it's going to take the pop star to be able to see a carton of eggs and not immediately get the urge to act like a douchey 12-year-old.

Boynton is back, and with it comes Boynton Beach Live, a multimedia art walk, open mic, and fire show that was supposed to be held in January, until the storm flooded the town.

Boynton Beach Live is brought to you by the Boynton Beach Arts District and will literally light a fire on your Thursday evening. The show will feature Mobile Homies lead singer J.C. Dwyer live, Craig McInnis as a guest artist, Soundmaster: DJ Though of Smooth Bounce Entertainment, and the Philosifires with a fire show not to be missed.

The show will be held at 422 W. Industrial Ave. in Boynton Beach from 7 to 11 p.m. and is free to attend. Visit activistartista.blogspot.com, or call 786-521-1199.

Last month was a reminder that we should never take great things for granted, especially the kind that cost nothing to attend and offer fun and frivolity for an entire evening. They could disappear in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, as January’s popular Third Thursday Art Walk at the Boynton Beach Arts District did, when flood damage set the district back some $60,000. But Rolando Chang Barrero and his dedicated team managed to secure enough funding to rebuild and continue, and this Thursday, the Art Walk is back and better than ever: Performances include live painting from Craig McInnis; live music from JC Dwyer, lead singer of the Mobile Homies; and, as always, Palm Beach County’s favorite fire spinners, the Philosofires.Very Special Welcome back to DJ Thought of Smooth Bounce Entertainment!!

Rolando Chang Barrero works every day to promote the Boynton Beach Art District among artists in South Florida and around the world. Barrero, 51, hosts exhibits and open-mic events, and even an occasional field trip with students. He even received a recognition last week from U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings for his work with the students at Manatee Elementary, who visited the art district to learn about recycling and how to turn trash into art.

I am a native of South Florida, of Cuban-Asian descent. I attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I graduated with a bachelor’s of fine arts and the Ryerson Fellowship for travel abroad, which took me to Cuba for study and research before returning to get an MAAT (master of arts in art therapy) degree. After completing my degree, I returned to Miami Beach, where I had my studio on Lincoln Road, and a job as interim galleries director for all three of the Miami-Dade Community College Galleries in downtown Miami and Little Havana. Later, I opened my first gallery with Jennie Persons called Ground Level in conjunction with the South Florida Art Center.

What brought you to Boynton Beach?

After years of traveling throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America, I returned to Miami Beach to find too many changes for me to feel comfortable with — mostly the high rents and exorbitant cost of living there. I was exploring Palm Beach County, and found a great little cottage in Delray to live, but I still needed a studio. A few months later, I discovered the Industrial Park in Boynton Beach and rented a small unit to work in. The studio soon became part-time gallery and I incorporated under my college nickname, ActivistArtistA, which means activist artist in Spanish. In a few months I realized I had outgrown the single bay unit and moved to larger quarters and finally to the street-facing double bay I currently work out of. The ActivistArtistA Gallery remained in the original space.

What current exhibits and projects at developing at the art district?
Current exhibits and projects are all over the board, from coordinating ART SYNERGY’s six countywide satellite exhibitions for ArtPalmBeach with my co-founder and friend, Craig McInnis, toa three-man exhibition I’m in with Greg Matthews and Anthony Burks at the Boynton Beach City Library. As far at the Boynton Beach Art District and the ActivistArtistA Gallery, we just held the biggest event there called ART SYNERGY’s ARTalFRESCO which included over 50 artists, 10 sponsors, a tour of the Avenue of the Arts provided by the City of Boynton Beach/Art in Public Places and the South Florida Symphony.

The Boynton Beach City Library host an artist’s reception Thursday for the “Elements” exhibit, which opens this week and runs through May 31.

The three participating artists Rolando Chang Barrero, Anthony Burks Sr. and Greg Matthews highlight the importance of the environmental conservation of South Florida through their works.

The artists created three collaborative pieces, which are the focal point of the exhibit. Each one contributes his specialty medium to the artwork: Barrero uses acrylic paint; Burks uses colored pencil and watercolor, and Matthews uses photography.

The reception will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the second floor of the library.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

“The Show Must Go On” is normally associated with theater. In the midst of dealing with the devastation of the Boynton Beach Flood and injury, Rolando Chang Barrero put aside an important document. The ARTalFRESCO satellite exhibit was one the biggest efforts by Rolando to highlight the City of Boynton Beach’s art scene and was a pillar of Art Synergy’s premiere. The Rickie Report shares the details of the document and invites everyone to gain a better understanding of the role of art in our everyday lives. We include a number of events that you will not want to miss!

Boynton Beach Leads the Way

RECEPTION FOR ”ELEMENTS” EXHIBITION

February 13, 2014

Boynton Beach City Library

208 South Seacrest Blvd.

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Exhibit Continues Through May, 2014

While dealing with the devastation of the Boynton Beach Flood, a brown envelope was put aside to be opened at a later moment. The manila envelope was stacked among the many “get to it later” correspondence that did not look like a bill. At the time cleaning up and preparing for the ARTalFRESCO Exhibition was paramount, it was only days away–and the show must go on. The ARTalFRESCO satellite exhibit was one the biggest efforts by Rolando Chang Barrero to highlight the City of Boynton Beach’s art scene. Busy with the cleanup, the exhibit, an injury to his left hand, and fundraising for the losses incurred by the flood, the envelope remained unopened.

Damage from the Boynton Beach Flood

After all was said and done, in a moment reprieve from the madness, the letter from the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington D.C. was opened. The Honorable Alcee L. Hastings had penned a glowing letter of recognition to local artist and arts administrator, Rolando Chang Barrero, for “The wonderful work teaching the students of Manatee Elementary the importance of recycling and showing them how to turn trash into art.” The Congressman’s letter which came as an unexpected surprise,

“Brought tears to my eyes,” says Barrero.

Rolando who is no stranger to motivating the community through his art is participating in “ELEMENTS”, a three man exhibit on the importance of safeguarding South Florida’s Eco-system. ”ELEMENTS” includes work by Greg Matthews, Rolando Chang Barrero and Anthony Burks, Sr. at the City Library on Boynton Beach, all are invited to the reception on February 13, 2014 from 5:30-7:30.

The South Florida ecosystem relies heavily on elements which surround our wildlife and impact our daily lives. From the aquifer to coastal waters, from everglades to beaches, from hurricanes to flash fires, we experience our environment in its natural habitat.

Greg Matthews, Rolando Chang Barrero and Anthony Burks,Sr.

In this exhibit three artists Rolando Chang Barrero, Anthony Burks Sr. and Greg Matthews highlight the importance of the environmental conversation movement in South Florida. Collectively, the artists engaged in conversations and site visits with leaders of conservatory organizations throughout South Florida.

They observed, documented and processed their images and experiences. The artists created three collaborative artworks which are the centerpiece of the Elements exhibition. Each artist contributed his medium to the collaborative artworks: Rolando, painting; Anthony, drawing; and Greg, photography. The collaborative artworks are not only esthetically pleasing but have great social impact. Each artist also has several individual artworks exhibited to demonstrate their medium and commitment to environmental issues.

This exhibition supports and builds upon the City of Boynton Beach’s GREEN programs including Earthweek activities, Climate Action Plan, Galaxy E3 Elementary School, Seaborne Cove and its Old Dixie Eco Walk. It is hoped is that visitors will have a deeper appreciation for the South Florida’s ecosystems by experiencing this exhibition.

Later this month Rolando will be joining Lori Durante, organizer of Children & Family Day, to produce a puppets and puppet show with children on the importance of fresh fruit in their daily diet. The theme for the the annual event is ‘Apples.’ Children & Family Day is held at the Boynton Beach Women’s Club, on February 23, 2014, noon to 4 p.m.